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Gedeon nodded his head. “He could lace a prescription drug she takes with fentanyl. It would be easy enough for him to do. Make it look as if she was doing coke with some friends. He could even invite some people over to the house while he was away, using her phone, and give them coke laced with fentanyl. He wouldn’t mind killing others in the process if it served his purposes.”

Edge agreed. “Just before Laverne and I left, Guy had begun calling me away from Laverne to do other tasks for him. I think he was doing that in preparation for me not being with Laverne when she was given the drug that would kill her.”

“So you got away and disappeared. You knew he would look for her,” Gedeon said. “I couldn’t find anything to indicate that he would be better off with her dead than divorced from her. He had no real reason to kill her. That was what made me look much more closely into his past relationships—that, and I just had a bad feeling about him.”

“We knew he would look. We had to have a plan in place immediately. We had to do it right the first time because there would be no second chances. Hawkins has too much money to think he wouldn’t hire the best to find her. I didn’t want to put Drake or anyone else we knew in jeopardy either. I did call in a favor to get her away safely, and then I asked to be assigned here on Jake’s ranch. I knew even Hawkins would have a difficult time getting to me here.”

“I’m not going to ask where Laverne is. As long as you know she’s safe, that’s good enough for me,” Gedeon said. “Hawkins hired us with a sob story about how much he loved his wife. He told us she is bipolar and when she goes off her meds, she does bizarre things that could end her career. She risks being ashamed of those things and would end her marriage to him over them because she doesn’t want to embarrass him. He claimed he hired you to protect her from herself should the worst happen, and she went off her medication. He said you took advantage. We knew that wasn’t true the moment we saw how long she’d planned her escape. We also became aware he had someone shadowing us.”

Gedeon extracted another paper from his jacket pocket, unfolded it and passed it to Jake and Edge. “That man is McGregor Handler, and he is considered one of the most lethal hit men in the world today. Once set on a target, he doesn’t stop until it’s done. He will use any means necessary to kill. He will kill a man, woman or child. The elderly, an infant—or if innocents get in his way, he will annihilate them. This man is on a retainer with Hawkins. He has been following me and Meiling ever since we agreed to look for Laverne.”

Jake passed the photograph to Edge.

“We believe his intention is for us to find Laverne and then he’ll kill her and us,” Gedeon continued. “I needed to ensure Laverne was safe. I have no actual proof against Hawkins. I’ve gathered circumstantial evidence, but it would never convict him. I know he’s guilty of ordering those other women killed. I believe he would have had his wife murdered and ordered me and Meiling killed as well. I think, Edge, that you’re on McGregor’s list too, but I don’t know that for a fact.”

Edge shrugged. “He can make his try.”

Jake frowned at him. “Emma told me more than once that my arrogance as a shifter was what was going to get me into trouble. Just because we have superior gifts doesn’t mean humans well trained in combat situations can’t be lethal. We let our guards down and they can exploit our carelessness.”

“I hear what you’re saying, boss,” Edge said. “It was difficult being in that house watching Hawkins act as if he was always so nice to everyone. He was supposedly kind and generous, which he was in front of cameras. Under the surface he was a cunning snake and his cruelty was often so subtle people had no idea they were even being shaded until everyone was laughing at them and they were forced to go along with the joke. He knew exactly what he was doing and how far he could take something.”

A trace of anger had slipped into the bodyguard’s voice. “I wanted to take care of that bastard, Jake, not just get Laverne out of there. I knew he’d come after her. He really thinks he’s so superior to everyone. I doubt if any law enforcement agency in the world can touch him.”

Meiling knew Guy Hawkins was well aware he would never be convicted of any crime. Even if he were arrested, the weight of public opinion would always be on his side. He’d been careful to cultivate his image in the media, and nothing was going to change what he’d so meticulously built.


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